CVS Pharmacy in Hot Water: Did They Fill Unlawful Prescriptions?

The Justice Department has started a fight with CVS Pharmacy, claiming they've been filling prescriptions that break the law. These aren't just any prescriptions, though – we're talking about dangerous amounts of opioids, and sometimes even mixes of drugs that aren't safe. Plus, they allegedly got paid back by federal health programs for these shady deals. CVS doesn't agree with this, saying they've been working with investigators for years and that these prescriptions were from licensed doctors. They also say most of the problems have already been sorted out with other governments. This isn't the first time a company's been in trouble for helping with the country's opioid crisis. Just last week, a big consulting firm called McKinsey agreed to pay $650 million for helping a drugmaker sell more OxyContin. Opioids have been a big problem, causing over 80, 000 deaths a year. Most of these deaths are now from illegal drugs mixed with a powerful opioid called fentanyl. Before, it was mostly prescription pills causing the trouble. In the past few years, drugmakers, middlemen, and pharmacies have all been in trouble for their part in the crisis. They've had to pay around $50 billion to help fight the problem.